Never Tan! Ask Before You Bite! Kiss, Don't Slurp!
by ContemplatingUnderland
Summary: I asked Ax what the Yeerkish nickname meant. In English, it meant: "she who drains the hearts of men." I wondered what that really meant when she suddenly appeared in my bed the next morning. Then I figured it out. not what you think. read and find out!
1. Prologue

**Declaimer: Not me nor anybody i know own the Animorphs characters. So sad ( But i love the books soooo...DEAL WITH IT! I love you all 3**

_Prologue_

**Marco POV**

It's kinda funny how irony works. Let me explain it to you. You see, when you have a totally awesome day, and you're feeling great about yourself and your life, the Irony Gods drop a huge bucket of "GOTCHA!" all over your head. I speak from experience because i have about a century's supply of "GOTCHA!" stuffed in a box under my bed. For intance, just as I was getting good grades and my dad got this great job, my mom "dies" and my whole universe is thrown into Hell. Or perhaps, when I was finally picking up the pointy little life-bits around me, a spaceship lands in front of me and my friends and we end up having to save the world from evil alien slugs(which is very _bad_). Now do you understand the physics of "GOTCHA!"? Sweet, now let me explain to you hoe the oh-so-hilarious Irony Gods drowned the Animorph world in the crap with a prettily-wrapped nightmare named "Addiblelle Knight"...


	2. Behind the Bolted Door

Thanks for my reviews peoples! Keep it up and I promise to entertain!(p.s. other morphs will appear in later chappies! promise!)

Declaimer: Remember people, I don't own the Animorphs, okay? Good, proceed!

_Chapter 1: Behind the Bolted Door_

**Marco POV**

"Alright, so what part of our lives is Visser Three trying to screw up now? Has he instructed Chapman to have us expelled yet?" I was crazy tired when I walked into Cassie's barn. And it wasn't only me, either! Everyone was yawning like lazy cats in our rumpled, wrinkled, tossed-on-in-the-dark clothes. Even Ax's front two eyes were drooping closed. Of course, this sort of thing happens when you get a call at _two in the morning_ to come in for an emergency meeting by an urgent android.

_ "Hurry, Marco, you need to hurry down ASAP," Erek nearly hollered into the phone. After my eardrums stopped ringing, I begged him to quiet down. Unlike me, my father was actually allowed to sleep in the middle of the night! Go figure._

_ "Not tonight, man, I need my sleep. It's either now, or tomorrow, during my science exam," I groaned._

_ "Please, Marco, you must come! We need your handsome and hilarious presence to make it through the night, oh Great One!" Okay, so he didn't say it in that many words, but I knew that's what he meant._

Anyway, i dragged my butt into a pair of old jeans, completely forgetting to change out of my Spiderman T-shirt, and rode the city bus all the way down to Cassie's farm, grumbling that the news better be worth the weird stares the bus driver gave me. Lo and behold, it was.

"Enough joking, Marco, this is serious," growled early morning Rachel, still supermodel gorgeous and grizzly bear peeved. Her hair was miraculously in place, despite her bedtime yawns. The wors 'witchcraft' popped into my head once or twice.

"Okay Erek, what's going on?" asked Jake, fighting his eyelids to stay open. The Chee turned to him, his hologram down, revealing his chrome and plastic, canine-ish body. He started up a holographic computer layout, opening file after file until he rested on a snapshot of a long, dark corridor, like a laboratory from a horro movie.

"This is live video feed from a security camera deep in the Yeerk pool. Hardly any Controllers are allowed this far, except for a high ranking Visser and a few others," Erek began to explain.

"How did you get a camera hook-up this far in?" asked Cassie, standing their in light yellow pajamas, suddenly wide awake. I guess we all were, seeing as anything can shock a teenager awake, if it's creepy enough. And it most definetly was, with Hork-Bajir and Human-Controllers guarding it like a Martian Fort Knox.

"I know a guy whose good with computers," he murmured. Then he started to laugh. "In fact, he _is_ a computer!" No one laughed with him. He cleared his metallic throat with a sound like a woodchipper running over a VCR and continued. "One of our agents amongst the Yeerks recorded these images, which I thought you guys should see." On the video, the hallway ended with a large, steel door. It was bolted shut, almost like one of those huge storage freezers in restaurants. Except, the chill that went down my spine told me that it wasn't holding any frozen hamburger patties. Rachel just continued to stare until the audio kicked in.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" We all clamped our hands over our ears to keep our heads from exploding from the screech. Tobias was freaking out up in the rafters.

What the hell was that?! he shouted, increasing the noise in my head. Erek somehow lowered the volume on the video feed and drew the group's attention back to it. Now, instead of the hideous screeching, the guards were swarming around the door, lasers aimed and ready to fire. Whatever was behind the door was pounding, trying to get out. Rivets and band began to buckle under the beating they were getting. There was obviously a horrible creature inside; what else could it be?! I could tell you it wasn't Bambi! One Human-Controller, obviously in charge, barked a command. Then, all at once, the guards opened fire on the steel door. After a few moments of complete chaos, a soft thud was heard to us in the dimly lit barn. We watched wide-eyed as the smoke cleared. The door was almost totally blown away, revealing utter darkness. And I mean like cave darkness. All the light seemed to be swallowed up into the room beyond.

"Oh my God," breathed Jake. I just kept stared, slack-jawed. I thought they were guarding the room from intruders, not blowing it up! There was another order and a Horj-Bajir was sent into the darkness to iinvestigate. The camera picked up its shaky knees as it marched into the room. there was a moment of silence as the rest waited for what was going to happen next. I released a breath i didn't know i was holding when the guard walked back out to report to the leader. _Is it dead?_ I wondered as the dozen or so guards marched into the room next and about thirty more arrived. This thing must've been really dangerous to freak the Yeerks out like that! Which meant we should've been freaked out even more! We didn't have that kinda firepower if it ever came to fighting that monster!

"Survailance reveals that what was being held in that room is being called Visser Three's 'Pet Project,' although, some are calling it a weapon of mass destruction. This footage was received in a Pool under Poland. The creature has been relocated to a base about fifty miles out in the dessert," briefed Erek in a stony voice. We nodded our heads and watched the video come to a close. A medical staff filed into the room next, then exiting with a body on a hovering stretcher. Most of the body was covered with a white sheet, but it was small and frail looking. That's when, from beneath the sheet, a pair of black eyes peeked out at us--well, at the camera. It was a pale face, but all I could really see were the eyes, cold and lifeless, like a shark's. And with my bad history with sharks, those eyes on a humanoid face could terrify. The very idea scared the crap out of me! The video ended and we all looked at Jake, our leader. We needed..well, leadership! This obviously was going to be a problem, possibly life-threatening. Altough, what wasn't nowadays?

Jake turned to look at Erek with mature, stressed eyes that had seen so much in such a little bit of time. "So, are they going to do anything soon?" The android nodded ominously; never a good sign.

"Due to a sudden change of plans, they are planning on an infestation of the creature, to use it in battle against you guys."

"When is the infestation scheduled to take place?" inquired Ax. It was the first time he spoke since we all arrived.

Erek the Chee winced an I-was-hoping-you-wouldn't-ask type of wince, like the one I used when my teacher asked for my overdue homework. "Considering the time for set-up and transportation..." we inched closer, "...about twelve hours from now." Of course it had to be! Since when, in the history of histories wwere we given a break? NEVER, that's when! N. E. V. E. R. As an Animorph, luck is out of the question. The memory of the shark-like eyes flashed in my mind. I flopped down on a bale of hay to hide my involuntary shiver. Suddenly, sleep was a distant fantasy, not possible in any sense of the word.


	3. The Annihilator

**Declaimer: I don't own the Animorphs! Don't rub it in! **

**Thanks for the reviews people; they were great! This is for you! Enjoy!**

_Chapter 2: The Annihilator_

**Tobias POV**

I landed on a building's rooftop to get a better view of the Yeerk Transport base without being spotted. It was located inside of a meat-processing plant in the factory district of the city. Any anxiety I felt before was tripled at the sheer number of gun-wielding guards awaiting "Anni," as Marco had pessimistically named it: "Animorph Annihilator."

_Leave it to Marco to name give it a name, _I thought; although, the name probably fit. At first, Ithought that he was over exaggerating, as usual, but now I wasn't so sure. The Yeerks had put the creature in a large, titanium box, about the size of a trailer. From where I was, I could make out a stencilled warning to humans reading: "CAUTION: BIO-HAZARDOUS MATERIAL. FATAL." I tried to ignore the recent double meaning and continued to watch as they unloaded "Anni" from an armored truck, into the base. The loading dock opened up, and for a split second, I saw a small army of Controllers standing in position. The sight put my feathers on end.

Wow! This...thing must be a huge deal! commented Rachel, watching from across the street in her owl morph. What unnerved me was that even _she _seemed nervous. We weren't going to fight the monster for another five hours or so, butwe were all freaked out. Time was running out.

Yeah, it must be. I replied, trying to cover my apprehension. Actually watching them bring "Anni" in made the whole situation real.

What do you suppose is the creature's appearance? asked Ax, an esprey about a mile above us. I have yet to learn of a lifeform with such a savage power that the Chee suggest.

Who cares? The real question is, when can we take it down?

In four hours, forty-nine minutes, Earth Time. recited Ax.

That's not what I meant, dude. There was the Rachel we all knew and loved. My hawk heart sped up at the words "love" and "Rachel" in the same sentence, but I ignored that,too. There would be no time for feelings in battle. I gave one last glance at the now closed gate of the plant and took off. A small bit of anxiety slid off as I lifted up into the skies, free and away from the Yeerks. Well, we'd never be free of Yeerks until we'd won the war, which began to seem nearly impossible a long time ago.

Roll call, I called behind me. Survelliance Team Alpha

Aximili, present

This is dumb. grumbled Rachel. I just waited for her to answer correctly. Ugh. Rach--HOLY CRAP! Her exclamation rattled my brain and took me by surprise. I banked to the left, swinging aroun in a tight circle. Now, I was facing the base again, just in time to see Controllers scramble out of the building like tiny black ants. Then an enormous, firey explosion blew through the structure, tossing them forward in different directions. Some of the guards landed with loud shouts, then lay motionless. Some kept going until they hit something, like the wall of the next building. The noise alone could've crushed our heads, when a huge thermal sent us flying backwards. I flapped hard against the winds until I was finally steady again.

JESUS CHRIST! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I hollered. D-DID YOU GUYS JUST SEE THAT?! ARE YOU ALL ALRIGHT?! Debris was falling all over the place, and huge chunks of cement and steel were blowing potholes into the street. At ten in the morning, everyone was already at work, so the road was blessedly clear. My heart was going a mile a minute at what I just saw, and from the rapid beats I heard around me, so were my friends'.

"Was there a plan I don't know about?" Rachel panted, demorphing in an alleyway below Ax and me. The owl's feathers were just melting back into her skin, and her eyes were still bird-like, glaring up at us.

I don't have any memory of such a decision. Perhaps I was not informed as well. offered Ax, totally bewildered. However, if this animal's eyes are functioning properly, it seems that the experiment has escaped. I looked aroung on the ground and, sure enough, there was a bunch of Controllers marching here and there, a few barking orders to search the premises. They had lost their weapon of mass destruction. It was on the loose among innocent humans, dangerous, untamed, and probably scared out of its mind. But if one thing was for sure, it wasn't working for Yeerks, so it probably didn't have any real motives to kill. Probably.

"Hey, I see it!" Rachel was bolting out of the alleyway at top speed. She was chasing the monster!

No! Come back! Dammit! I dived down after her, a bullet with feathers. People on the street gasped at me, a red-tailed hawk, darting through the crowd. It was harder to fly at such a low altitude, but I had to get to Rachel before she actually reached the "Annihilator." It was better to let the creature go, it could kill us without all of the Animorphs here to fight.

I flew past shocked faces and whirring cars, weaving and dodging until I caught Rachel corner "Anni" at a dead end. There were no people around except for Rachel and whatever she was looking at. Instead of morphing to grizzly, though, she just stood there, frozen. I perched on a rain gutter higher up, trying not to make any sudden movements.

Rache, what is it? I whispered. I didn't specify whether I was talking about what was stopping her or what she had stopped. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to know the most.

"Are you alright?" she blurted out to someone in the shadows. The huddled form in the darkness flinched responsively and tried to crawl away. Then I noticed that it was on its knees. _So it _is_ scared, huh._

It is safe, creature. We will not cause you any harm. Ax landed right next to me, feathers ruffled. It was like we were coaxing an injured animal out of a hole.

Maybe we should bring Cassie out here. I can go get her if Rachel can keep Anni here. I suggested. Something told me that given the enemy a name was a bad idea; it made us too familiar with something that we knew nothing about except that it was lethal. I didn't want to get pounded on like the door that tried to hold it in.

"But what if it tries to kill me? I should be allowed to whale on it at will," stated Rachel, looking upward on instinct. "Anni" took the chance to leap out of the shadows. That's when I got a good look at what it was. it was a...a...a teenage girl! I shook my head, trying to clear any illusions, but it was true. The creature we had been so afraid of, the monster that took twelve soldiers with Dracon beams to knock out, was a pale, dark-eyed, teenage girl! She wasn't even that tall! However, despite her size, she tossed Rachel aside like an old ragdoll.

NO! I yelled. I swooped down towards her throat, talons poised, but only reached empty air. I flapped my wings and pulled up before I smashed into the ground, and realized she was nowhere to be found. That's when Ax called his hawk call and dived at a looming shadow behind me. I turned around, lifted up, ready to fight, and was face-to-face with the Annihilator. She glared at me with her dead, pitch-black eyes. They were slitted and menacing, like a hungry predator. She reached behind her and plucked Ax off her back, as if he were a flea. He struggled in her grasp, and I could see she was inhumanly strong. I had underestimated her without knowing it. She wasn't just a wild monster with no sense; she was smart and agile. She must've caused the explosion on purpose, planning it out.

At that moment, she grabbed me by the neck with her other hand and squeezed. The air was cut off from my lungs and black spots started to appear in my vision. I was going to die, right there and then. That's when the blond-haired fighter launched herself at "Anni", fist connecting with her cheek. Luckily, she loosened her grip on our necks, more out of surprise then anything. Ax and I fell away from her, gasping for air. She staggered backwards, hand to her face. Her pale cheek was red where Rachel punched it and her black eyes were wide in shock. When she took her hand away and looked at us, we tensed up for battle. Imagine our total disbelief when she dropped to her knees, wrapped her hands around her shivering shoulders, and cried like a toddler who just scraped her elbow falling off the swings.


	4. WBMOT

Declaimer: You know the drill. I don't own the Animorphs anymore than I own a million bucks…boohoo/sob. Alright, now that that's outta the way, the show must go on!

_Chapter 3: Rachel, World's Best Mutant Obedience Trainer!_

**Rachel POV**

Okay, so noooo one expected the Annihilator to start wailing like a little kid, but stranger things have happened (i.e. us turning into animals, crashing spaceships, etc.) so I went up to her and bopped her on the head one more time.

"No crying!" I snapped. I had to do the same thing with Sarah pretty much every time I babysat her, so I was used to shutting up whining brats. Of course, "Anni" was, like, my age, but you get the point. Anyway, it worked. "Anni" stopped all the waterworks, but still didn't calm down. Instead, she sat there, looking at the ground and rubbing her eyes, hiccupping and sniffling and stuff, like all kids do when their yelled at. "No! None of that, or I'll give you something to sniffle about!"

I grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She was a good couple of inches shorter than me; in fact, she was even shorter than Marco! However, I didn't let my guard down, seeing as any Animorph would remember that little things are probably the most harmful. Attcking ants still plague my nightmares, 'till this day. So, back to "Anni," who seemed to have calmed down a bit. Ax and Tobias, both in human morph, sorta stared at me like I had a second head or something.

"What?" I dared. "It wasn't like I was going to let her sit there and bawl her eyes out! Something had to be done!" Then I turned to the Annihilator, who was waiting for me to tell her what to do next. "So you do have some training, huh?" She nodded her head, yes. I leaned in a little closer to examine her face. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" Another nod. _Okay, so now we're getting somewhere_, I thought. "Why did you attck me? Can you tell me that?" A third nod; yes, she could tell me. "Are you going to tell me?" She nodded again, then opened her mouth to speak. We all leaned closer to hear her quiet voice.

_"Manitisth oramin illin prebritisth wastree_," she whispered timidly. I just gawked at her, and I could tell Tobias was confused, even if his face didn't show it.

"What the hell does _that_ mean?!" All i heard was alien gibberish. Tobias just shrugged, his dirty blond hair waving around his ears. Instead of being distracted, which I was beginning to fall into, I lokked at Ax, who was concentrating very hard on something. I pointed it out to Tobias.

"Hey, Ax-man, can you translate?" he nudged at the unsettlingly cute boy next to him.

"I believe so. Be-leeeev. Belllleeeeevah so," he replied, playing with the pronunciation...again. Then he got serious. "The exper-ee-ment seems to be sp-eeeee-kinnnng, speaking, in Andalite. However, it is an older dialect, harder to comprehend, cooomper-eee-hennnduh." He smiled goofily to himself, then approached "Anni". As he spoke to her in the old Andalite language, he translated it to English in our heads.

"_Oparin slesith._" ("Please repeat.") "Anni" nodded politely and repeated what she said.

"_Manitisth oramin illin prebritisth wastree._" (She says, "I felt as if human was I threat.") "_Oparin gregot laiarenes. Meelac crell._" (She says, "Please, forgive my rudeness. I mean no harm.")

"Ask her why she blew up the base," I urged. I just had to know what I saw a few minutes ago! Ax nodded and translated it into the strangely poetic speak.

"_Anii drulque? Bounoi hantriliun?_" he purred in a non-accusatory tone. (The base? Why was it destroyed?) "Anni" blushed pink and took a silent interest in the stained and littered cement underneath her toes.

For the first time, I realized that she was covered in bandages. From her head to the ends of her toes, she was wrapped up tight in cotton! For a moment, I wondered what she really looked like. Her face was mostly covered, except for her eyes and her pale cheeks. She looked a bit like a mummy, and without that creepy deadness in her stare, she seemed harmlessly sweet. I felt a little sorry for hitting her, knowing that she she was only defending herself. That's probably why she destroyed the base! The Yeerks were probably trying something sneaky and she must've got scared and ran.

_Or this whole thing is just an act and,as soon as we get too close, yeerks are gonna swarm in and kill us,_ hissed that suspicious little voice in the back of my mind. I kept the idea in consideratoion when she started talking again.

"I can speak English, you know," she whispered, embarassed. Of what, I wasn't sure, but it seems she was easily embarassed just from being noticed. _I guess you learn something new everyday._

''She says that she can speak your native tongue," Ax followed. Tobias laughed his emotionless laugh and the tension of the discovery slipped off. Why was it so easy to calm down around this strange, powerful girl?

"I think we caught that bit, man," joked Tobias. Eventually, I laughed, too. Who cares about "Anni"s history, as long as she was calm now. Besides, she took us by sursprise! Next time, we would be able to take her! I took her wrist and led her towards the end of the alley. The shadows and stuff were getting way too depressing.

"C'mon, 'Anni', let's get you a new outfit. There's no way you're gonna walk in the street like that, not with me around!" I pulled her behind the Dumpster, where I left my backpack full of clothes. I put on my skirt and stuff over my morphing suit, but handed my shirt and jacket over to "Anni." I handed the boys the clothes I packed for them, and left them to get dressed. "Anni," on the other hand, looked confused. "What's the matter with you?"

She started, just remembering I was standing there, and turned bright red. Then she turned her head down and mumbled something into the clothes. I didn't quite catch it, so I leaned in a little closer and asked for a repeat. That's when I caught her shocking message. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE NEVER WORN CLOTHES BEFORE?!" How could any teenager, a _girl_ no less, walk around smelly, sweater Controller guys all day without clothes on?! It was blasphemy of fashion and self-decency! I snatched the shirt out of her hand and forced it over her head. She yelped in surprise, but didn't attack. She must've been extremely trusting, despite dealing with what I saw on the video tape on a daily basis. I definitely would've been the most bitter creature alive if that was me! Hmph!

Anywho, after the shirt (which was a shirt on me but a dress on her because of the height difference) I showed her how to put her arms through the sleeves of the denim jacket in about the same way. It was totally bizarre, like when we first taught Ax how to get dressed, because it was a completely new concept to her. It was sorta funny watching her eyeball the clothes like they were new friends. I felt myself grow a little attached to 'Anni" in those few short minutes. I tried to hide my smile when she asked me if she should apologize to the clothes for sticking her arms into them.

"No. it's fine. Trust me, they like it," I reassured.

"Are you girls finished yet?" called an annoyed Tobias from the alley. "Anni" squeaked and apologized.

"Forget them," I advised so the boys could hear me. "They don't understand how hard it is for a girl to look her best." "Anni' was tomato red at this point. "Now," I declared. "For the big finish!"

I took hold of the tight bandages on her arms and strted to unravel them. She started to protest, but I growled and told her to trust me, which shut her up. I continued to unravel, leaving the bandages covering the private places (we didn't have any underwear on hand) until all that was left to reveal was her head. I internally marvelled at how smooth and white her skin was, like porcelain. Tons of women would sell their soul for that type of skin. When I finally reached her face, she looked at me with total trust in her eyes. It was like dealing with a puppy when you're the first thing it sees when it was born.

"So, do you have a real name?" I asked as I started to unwrap.

"You called me 'Anni.' Does that stand for anything in particular?" I gulped and kept my eyes focused on the bandages.

"Sure it does, but you don't want that as a name," I demanded. "You have to pick your own name! You are free to be called whatever you like!" I had my hand on the last bandage that held all the others over her head. I saw her shoulders shake and realized she was crying again. "Hey, didn't I say no crying?" I reminded her softly.

She looked up at me with those tears in her eyes, and I saw how happy she was. "Can I really choose my own name?"

"Duh! For instance, I like it when people call me 'Rachel'. It's my name! And yours is?" I tugged the last bandage and all the others fell to the ground. I gasped when I saw her shining raven hair tumble over her shoulders and down her back in shimmering waves. Her full, pink lips were in a beaming smile that lit up her entire, extravagant face. _She looks like a doll,_ I thought through my surprise. The girl then closed her eyes gently, did a perfect curtsy (where did she learn that?), and stepped out from behind the Dumpster to present hersle to the boys. They both gasped loudly and their jaws hung open in shock.

"Good afternoon, all," she announced shyly. "My name is Addibelle Knight." Tobias glanced at me with a general message of "Yoou're good." (Way to go, Rachel, the world's best mutant obedience trainer!)

**A/N: I thought this chapter should have a lot of surprises, but I think i went overboard a bit. Review and tell me what you think! **


	5. Demonic Aura

**Sorry! I didn't mean to neglect this story for so long, but I have so much school crap to do; it's insane. All my friends are angry with me at some level for forgetting to return their calls. I guess, "I'll talk to you later" has a time limit. Anyway, thanks for the comments, keep 'em coming!**

**Declaimer: I don't own the Animorphs at all…sniffle**

_Demonic Aura_

**Jake POV**

"Alright, dude, you win!," I finally submitted. "They all came back as humans." Making dumb bets has become Marco and my way of coping with the mind-numbing, ear-straining, nail-biting anxiety that crept up whenever our group split up. It was hard for me especially, because I know that if anything serious were to happen to anyone, it would directly be my fault. Imagine carrying that type of pressure on your shoulders everytime you went off on a weekend visit to grandma's house! The burden is also tough on the brain. Lately, I've been suffering from these major headaches, skull-splitting. Rachel gets angry that I don't try and relax more, and Cassie is all worried for my health, but what can you do? Until the world is saved, we all must grin and bear it...so to speak.

Anyway, the bet was Marco's idea. Since us Animorphs tend to enter the woods in different forms more than often (i.e. Andalite, hawk, human, etc.), the bet was that Tobias, Rachel, and Ax will all return in human form. Now, Marco was also willing to bet that someone would have lost limbs or something gory like that--which i couldn't say wasn't possible, even likely (hello, Migraine)--but I ignored it. Of course, as Cassie, Marco and I sat on the forest floor, we were sweating bullets and chewing skin. Yeah, it was that bad. Sending three, albiet three of our strongest, fighters into the field was a risky move, especially if they were overlooking a dangerous WMD that could punch through solid steel.

_SNAP! _a twig breaks behind the tall ferns. Cassie yelps a bit before she covers her own mouth. The tension had my hair on edge, all senses alert for any danger. There are soft, thudding footsteps coming our way when Marco snorts sarcastically.

"Alright, this is a rip off from that cheap ninja movie I saw last week. _Kong Pow Fist in the Forest Empire_ or some crap." I noted his shaky breathing for a moment, then Cassie's nervous laugh. For just a minute, i wanted to put my arms around her shoulders or something, but I shook it off. It was business time. _Wow, _I thought,_ I should be worrying more about girls than any type of business. Animorph-ing has stripped me of the basics! _I looked up so quickly my neck snapped when I saw a human Tobias enter our little clearing. One glimpse of his expressionless face told me he was fine, but the fact that he was avoiding my relieved eyes only brought back some more stress.

That stress only seemed to build as Ax came around, totally human, also, make his way into our midst. He gave me a quick glance and nod to confirm in some furtive way that everything went fine; no long explanations, not even a single "Prince Jake" as a greeting. _What's going on? _Then, finally, the tension broke when my cousin pushed her way through the foliage. FINALLY! I spared a quiet prayer to whoever was listening that I wouldn't have to explain her "sudden disappearance" to my aunt. That's when I realized the little procession of new-comers wasn't done. There was a fourth person! As soon as Rachel turned around and reached into the greenery, a small, pale hand glided gracefully forward and slid into her fingers. I could hear Cassie gasp, the tiny puff of breath barely noticeable to me, standing right next to her. However, it must've been as obviously as a black snake in a field of snow to whoever was trailing along. The little hand froze for a second, disappeared for another, and reappeared the next on my throat.

"_Speak your name!_" a soft voice hissed in my ear. It was so low, it was more of a vibration that my slow brain translated into words. I couldn't get a feel for the little pale person's voice, and he/she was behind me, so I wouldn't see their face either. And maybe it was just my imagination, but I think I felt a knife at my neck. So there is this stranger, who possibly knows our true identities, hissing at me, and holding sharp objects to my vital veins and/or arteries. So yes, I morphed. Snow White from hell was gone by the time I was a grown, 400 pound, orange and black mass of fangs and claws. All the fear I felt melted off into the animal instinct for self-defense.

I crouched low, belly to the ground, maw pulled back over my pointy teeth. I was ready to fight. My nose picked up the strange scentof whatever threatened me, or, at least, singled out a foreing scent among familiars, an intruder. Amazingly, the trail was faint as anything, much too faint to follow. It was moving fast, that much I knew, way too fast to be human. That lack of "humanity" was completely evident when I found myself looking at the word upside down. The tiger couldn't, in any way, understand what was happening in this fight against an unprecedented enemy and was so panicked at the predator's presence. Whatever I was fighting against the tiger saw as an immediately overwhelming adversary, something that cannot be defeated, as it couldn't be seen, heard, and barely smelled. I MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN FIGHTING A GHOST!

"Addie, NO! PUT HIM DOWN NOW!" Rachel snapped. The thing that was holding me up by my hind legs quickly dropped me, but when I hit the ground, my first move after I gained my bearings was to head for the creature's throat. That, however, left me slammed against a large (rather solid) tree and my large head was held in a vice-like grip, and I was glaring into the eyes of a demon. I didn't see that it was a girl, and the tiger didn't notice Rachel and Ax rushing forward to save me. No, all it saw was that demon, and I felt myself suffocate in the black death that was, what I knew, as the Annihilator. I was frozen, the tiger instinct to defend itself had fallen silent...the glare was even stronger than the physical pain I felt, my spine scraping against rough bark.

_"There are more demons spewed forth from the mouth of Hell...close enough to touch._" Her lips came extremely close to my feline ears, whispering voicelessly. I felt fear grip my heart when she finally put my down. She sat on the forest floor, just in the shadows, watching me catch my breath. I could tell she was listening to my heartbeat, as it pounded violently in my chest. Something told me that the comment was neither a threat, nor a promise. It was a blatant truth, something that can be seen in her now lively eyes and the innocent way she smiled. She wasn't anything more than a young girl, just Cassie or Rachel, that has been dragged into this pile of crap way to live...a sacrifice to the greater workings o the universe.

_Whoa! When did I become a philosopher? _I blinked in surprise when the girl came forward and pet my head, as if I wear a lost allycat and not a huge, Siberian tiger. But then, with her type of power, I might as well be a kitten in a cardboard box. She knelled down and dug her face in my fur, breathing evenly. She was so gentle, it surprised me that I ever thought of her as a demon, with her beautiful face and tiny body. Her black hair fell past her heels and pooled on the ground, when the impulse hit me to finger through it. It semmed so shiny and deep, like liquid night. Before I knew it, I was human me again, in my embarrassingly tight morphing outfit, holding a sleeping WMD. Rachel had come to me and was sighing in relief when she saw me lifting the small body on my back to carry her into Cassie's barn. She was ammazingly light, almost frighteningly so, which explained why she seemed to glide when she walked.

I noticed Ax's sudden look of horror, and Tobias's shout. Rachel rushed to pull the girl from my back, and the loss of te sligt weight made me nervous, as if someone snatched my nonexistent baby sister from my arms. When I turned, however, all I saw was the blood dripping sinisterly down her legs and Marco's glare. His glare...I have come to see more in war. A murderous, cruel, cold look that followed the track of blood as if he hated it more than anything imaginable. A glare that made his dark brown eyes, usually filled with humor, totally black. Marco, my best bud...a demon close enough to touch...


	6. Beneath Her Smile

**Sorry for my …tardiness! I just got in trouble with my math teacher for tardiness, too…crap. Anyway, here is when the story gets a little more twisted, so pay close attention to our lil' demons!(Gasp! Did I just say "demons"! SPOILER!) Thanks for the reviews; you all are more awesome than my math teacher!**

**Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own the Animorphs or any of their characters…the question is why…******

_Beneath Her Smile _

**Cassie's POV**

Please don't think of me any differently when I say I was jealous. I was, though, because I really like Jake and it took us forever to get as close as we were. But that girl, the Animorph Annihilator as Marco said, was his main concern when I have been around for much longer! Sorry, but watching him pace the floor of my family's barn when I left Addie for a second to share the news of her condition, I couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever paced that way for me. It left me a little sad, and undoubtedly envious...why couldn't I have been as pretty as my enemy? However, I shook that out of my mind when Jake stopped his pacing, which was scuffing my floor, and turned to me. My heart fluttered when he looked at me, just a force of habit I suppose, but I spoke as strongly as I could.

"She's going to be fine. The blood was just her body's natural cycle," I explained. I grew a little bit sadder when Jake sighed in relief, every one in the room relaxed conciderably, even Ax! What magic was this girl working on them? We have known her for all of barely three hours, and all we know is that the Yeerks have had her for who-knows-how long, experimenting, and she is meant to totally destroy us. _I wonder if this is what the others were thinking when I was companions with a Yeerk myself..._That's when I noticed Marco in the corner of the room. He just leaned against the wooden wall and watched us, separate from the rest. In his own, isolated world, he glared at nothing, but I was glad that it wasn't me. The look on his face could make grass wilt and trees die. I felt a shiver go up my spine for a moment, and listened to Ax as he stated his question in his Andalite form.

((This menstruation is a natural occurrence among many mammals, correct?)) he asked, thinking as he talked. That definetly broke the stressful tension in the room, though it made the boys cough, embarrassed.

"Oh, grow up, all of you!" shouted Rachel. Jake blushed and avoided her eyes, probably knowing that his cousin had already gotten her period.

I just laughed and turned to Ax, smiling reassuringly. "Yes, it is. Why do you ask?" People have said I looked like my mom when I used my "vet voice" mainly Jake...Jake. I shook my head and asked Ax to repeat what he said once more.

((I was saying that this means the girl is, theoritically, able to reproduce. Assuming there exists any males like her, it could be that the Yeerks are planning on creating a new race of soldiers to infest.)) he informed grimly. The tension returned with family, and everyone was back on red alert. we had to remember that, as sweet and innocent she may seem, Addibelle was still a dangerous, killing machine that we were meant to destroy. Now, there could be more, less innocent "Anni"s and maybe a few "Andy"s left to fight. What if there were more of them? What would we do, and how soon until we all...

"I doubt that that was his purpose," remarked Marco. It was the first time he even spoke since Addie first showed up. We all jumped at hearing his low, sarcastic voice again, drifting out from the shadows. "I think that Addie is just, like what Erek said, a pet project. He wouldn't go so far as to make a race of them when he can't even control one." We all agreed internally, but were still on edge. Now, it was more because of the way Addie had seemed to change in our eyes so suddenly. We knew virtually nothing about her, not even her real name, and, now even with me, it became a priority to protect her. Jake glanced at his best friend nervously, as if he knew something he didn't want us to worry about, carrying the weight of the burden on his own. It worried me that he did this so often, suffering from migraines and nightmares, just for our peace of mind. Wierd how it's a cycle of stress. Then, When I looked at Marco again, for myself, I realized that he was back to normal, joking, grinning, sarcastic Marco. That, I think, is what worried me the most. How can anyone change so suddenly, from something so innocent and kind to something so dangerous and frightening. Like a smiling doll to a dead-eyed monster. Like a laughing companion to a chilling observer. From a shy vet's daughter to a growling wolf...how is that possible, if we don't want it to be?

And that's when I heard the screams, Addie's terrified shrieks from the depths of her nightmares...what was she so terrified of? What was she hiding beneath her smile?

--

**Marco POV**

She had to be killed. That is the final decision, wat we all agreed upon: when the time came, we Animorphs would come together and destroy her for everything she stood for. She stood for the Yeerk imprisonment of humans and the danger to our families. She stood for the loss of my mom, and the loss of Jake's bro. She stood for my future being thrown to the dogs and us six teenagers being stamped to die. She stood for all of that in one little body, pale and lithe, and in black eyes so dark they can steal your soul. Loss, Death and everything Worse were the ingredients in this evil ass Powerpuff Girl. But...what was the X factor, that mysterious last ingredient that made her so beautiful? What was it that made the others see innocence when I saw clouds of acid smoke and rivers of blood. What made me different?

Then I heard her screams and I knew what she was dreaming about. I have had the smae nightmares, and have screamed the same, terrified way. I have made my father rush to save me just like Jake was doing right then, as if he were meant to protect her. But he wasn't, and he can't. Just like he couldn't save me..._but maybe..._

I ran as ast as I could into Cassie's living room, where Addibelle lay thrashing on the couch. I took her in my arms and held her head in my chest, letting her sob and claw at my back. It hurt more than anything, and her fists hit like wrecking balls, but I held on. I didn't crumple or collapse, my breathing didn't hitch and my heart didn't race. I was doing my job, protecting her from her dreams. When her eyes opened and she looked at me, I knew I was right with what I did. She eyes teared up, and I wiped them. My shirt was shredded but my skin was unscathed...why? My thoughts were confused but I was all too clear to think...why? And when she reached up to touch my face, I didn't see a hurt, scared girl like the others did...

I leaned in a little bit closer...

No, that's not what I saw at all...

She tightened her grip on my back, begging to never be let go, eyes understanding...

This was meant to happen...this meeting, at this time...

Our lips touched for the slightest moment when I realized what was happening. When I gasped in her mouth, taking a bit of the air from her lungs, she only held tighter, kissed harder. And when Jake and the others rushed in the room, I was in another place. It was dark there, and it was cold...freezing. But right next to me was Addibelle, and I knew she was in this place for a long time...it was the nightmare. She only smiled sadly and walked ahead, knowing I was following, there to guard her. and you know, just in case you ever meet a demon, it's always easier to see them from the corner of your eyes. That's what I did rom then on: I always made sure I could see her from the corner of my eye, so I would never fall into her illusion of innocence.

She had to be killed. That's the final decision the universe made for her, for us. That I would have to lose a battle, some day, in which, this demon will be dragged into the deepest rings of Hell. However, with her holding my hand, leading me threw the darkness, I was no longer confused. And, lucky me, I now had the mental clarity every true warrior knows, and the patience of a thousand years. Sure, one day she was eternally damned, but now I knew, _so am I_.

She turned and smiled at me, bringing me back to the livimg room, her hand in mine. Yeah, I was just like her, now I knew why she smiled so much. It was just like that Mona Lisa painting everyone knows about: she smiles ike she knows a secret. Addibelle knows a secret, and smiled at Jake, standing in front of us. He was facing her, but was watching me...from the corner of _his_ eye...damn...


End file.
